Rules of Flying

I was at it again, engrossed in another movie and what do you know, another spiritual insight comes flying at me.  This was from a movie I have already seen and shared some with you, but good anyway.

Being a member of the great entertainment industry I have found that being able to stay afloat and sane is sometimes the hardest thing for people to do, but what about the rest of the world.  Wouldn't you agree that surviving is sometimes the hardest thing to do? Financially, physically, socially?  Well let me propose this: Understanding who God is and that he is love here is the following from the movie Serenity

River and Mal sit at the controls of the space ship.  A rain storm ensues outside.  Mal flips switches and dials as he guides the boat through the sky.

Mal:

It ain't all buttons and charts, little albatross.  You know what the first rule of flying is?

(beat)

Well, I suppose you do since you already know what I'm about to say.

River:

I do.  But I like to hear you say it.

Mal:

Love.  You can learn all the math in the 'verse, but you take a boat in the air that you don't love she'll shake you off just as the turn of the worlds.  Love keeps her in the air when she ought to fall down, tells you she's hurting before she keels.  Makes her a home.

River:

Storms getting worse.

Mal:

We'll pass through it soon enough.

They wait as the ship is shaken by the storm until calm.  Storm breaks, sun shines.  Off into space.

So when the storm keeps blaring and the boat of yours should not be in the air, just know that you'll pass through it soon enough, both of you, God guiding your boat safely through it.

Who Are We To Say?

I have sometimes encountered the situation where I see fellow believers talking about their walk with God by questioning the commitment of others around them.  Why is it that this becomes the way we rate our relationship with the Father?  I find that when people want to make themselves look better, whether it is in work or recreation, the simplest of ways people find to do that is to say everything that the person they are comparing themselves to is doing wrong.  This should not be the case.  I don't care how much better you are than someone else, I don't want to hear you tell me in a comparison, rather tell me what makes you good.

I have experienced this in leadership situations where people who, in essence, may want to take over a position start to question the leadership that is already in place - whether it be government or church.  I would urge you to not be so quick to judge by raising questions about the leaders commitment.  This is not to say that accountability is of no use, but rather change your attitude from an attitude of pride to an attitude of humbleness.  Leadership is not a role of control, it is not a role of dictatorship. NO! I don't know why people feel that when they are given that role they have to be the forefront of everything, in the spotlight and micromanaging with an iron fist.

Leadership is the act of serving, and when a leader serves a leader inspires and from inspiration you can turn a team following behind you into leaders or better yet into servants.  When that happens your role as a leader changes from proving that you are better than everybody else to running along side your "teammates" and becoming a force larger than before.

So stop trying to prove yourself to others and start working on your own relationship with Christ.  You don't have to compete for Christ attention and from where he stands he sees you no different than the guy next to you.  The analogy comes to mind that is so much easier to relate to when you have either lived in San Fransisco Bay Area, know of it, or have been there. 

Two men are standing on Pier 39 in San Fransisco looking out towards Alcatraz.  They both get the notion to see if they can jump their way from the Pier to the Island.  (For those of you who don't know, the distance between the two is roughly 6,000 feet.)  The two men took a running start at one end of the Pier and when they got to the end of it they lept from the boardwalk toward the Island both landing in the Bay separated by only a few feet.  One of them said as they were bobbing in the ocean water, "I got closer than you."  But when all is said and done neither of them were remotely close to even coming close.

Romans 3:23

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

Peace and Tolerance: Election '08

This is a strange thing that I have noticed recently and realized it to have been apparent for quite sometime. I notice it in America, because I live here, but it could happen in other parts of the world. What I find strange is the people, usually in reference to political opinions, that promote peace and tolerance for all are also the most vocal about their stance. I don't see a thing wrong with being vocal about what you believe and especially when promoting peace and tolerance. I believe that these issues were one of the reasons The United States of America were formed. Unfortunately, the people who are vocal about their cause do this strange thing that confuses the hell out of me and makes me to believe that their promotion of peace and tolerance is more of an excuse to not have to live by any code.

So far I have experience more anger and intolerance from people who promote what they say is peace and tolerance, can I say peace and tolerance more? peace and tolerance, peace and tolerance, peace and tolerance, peace and tolerance.

If we are to say we need peace, why riot or voice threats or show your anger attempting to show how much stupider people are than you if they believe differently. Does that truely promote peace and tolerance. The biggest issues I have discovered that people show the most hatred towards are ones that I did not vote in their favor on.

Prop 4: I voted in favor of this proposition because I believe that and adults judgment is better than a teenager. Not only am I Pro-Life but a teenage girls body should not be harmed in the way that abortion can do, plus a parental awareness is that much closer to a right decision

Prop 8: I voted in favor of this proposition because the beliefs that I have are that homosexuality is a sin, so I could not vote in favor of allowing a person to sin. Other reasons are the following: I do a lot of wedding video and photography and I run the risk of a lawsuit if I decline to provide services to a couple due to my moral beliefs. If I turn down my service to a gay couple because I don't support their kind of marriage will I be running the risk of a lawsuit. Also non profit organizations could be at risk of losing their non profit status if they refuse their services such as wedding, location services to gay couples. Why should an organization be punished for adhering to their moral beliefs. I feel that it is my duty as a Christian to vote in favor of this Proposition.

Obama/Biden or McCain/Palin: Not only for moral conservative beliefs I feel that the things proposed are far better and will be better run with a McCain/Palin administration...although I think Mike Huckabee would have made a better president. Tell me what a Mike Huckabee/Ron Paul ticket would be like - that would be phenomenal.

Anybody, who voted otherwise, God be with you and that you voted in a way that did not compromise your morals...and if a Christian, your commitment with God - even if it was different than how I voted.

I Aim to Misbehave

Again, it was one of those nights and I got caught up in watching a movie. Now I enjoy a good flick, whether for research, pleasure or both, but it always catches me by surprise when I find those gems that spark thought, evoke emotion and as Captain Malcom Reynolds might put it, "That there is surely something that invokes a man to be inspired."

When trying to shed an ounce of insight on my evening I began to think of how the deceiver is the master of doing just that. Our thoughts lend towards the idea that we just might be able to become better, a life without sin and we are led to believe that we can do it on our own. "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist," (The Usual Suspects, 1995) but it goes even further than just that. Society has led us to believe that the solution to our problems does not lie in the government but it lies in each of us...Sounds great doesn't it, a way to inspire people and get them to work for, dare I say it, the devil? I don't think that working for the government is bad, or that the government is bad, but what I am saying is that fundamentally the idea that the solution lies in man is the misconception. The solution to our worlds problems: social, political, personal, public, lies in our Saviour Jesus Christ.

I live in Los Angeles, California, the heart of the entertainment industry. This is a place where radical ideas are born. I have noticed that in being edgy or active politically or even in entertainment a formula must be followed. For acceptance, you should probably not be a Christian, you should vote Democrat and always tell people that they can do pretty much whatever they want as long as it doesn't hurt me. For success, make a movie that is bizarre and makes no sense, write a screenplay that fits a formula that is known to sell, join a union and strike if you don't get your way. And guess what, every body does it.

As Christians I notice how I immediately stand out from those around me. Disgust and bitterness just at the mention of the name Christian. Well, we have the answer, we know the news, we are one up on the great deceiver and he doesn't like it. Then I am watching the movie Serenity (2005) and it clicks again:

MAL:
This report is maybe twelve years old. Parliament buried it, and it stayed buried 'till River dug it up. This is what they feared she knew, and they were right to fear it. 'Cause there's a whole universe of folk that are gonna know it, too. They're gonna see it. Somebody has to speak for these people.

So whose it gonna be? Can we handle breaking the mold of comfort? Let me say this, looking through the letters written by Paul I can see an example of breaking the mold. Heck, we'll make it easier than that. This guy named Jesus was hung on a cross for breaking the mold. Then much to the surprise of the devil, he rose and I can pretty much be certain that he didn't see that coming.

But we are all called to serve for different reasons and not everyone is here in Hollywood. That make no never mind to me. You still have the same objective.

MAL: (CONT'D)
You all got on this boat for different reasons, but you all come to the same place. so now I'm asking more of you than I have before. Maybe all. Sure as I know anything I know this, they will try again. Maybe on another world, maybe on this very ground swept clean. A year from now, ten, they'll swing back to the belief that they can make people...better. And I do not hold to that. So no more running.
(beat)
I aim to misbehave.

JAYNE:
Shepherd Book used to tell me, "If you can't do something smart, do something right."

ZOE:
It's a fair bet the Alliance knows about Mr. Universe. They're gonna see this coming.

MAL:
No. They're not gonna see this coming.

So let's aim to misbehave, because they won't see this coming.

Memorial to a Tiger

When I was in 5th grade, the age of 10 as my mother says, my father came home from work with a surprise that none of us were expecting. He had heard the cries of a small kitten coming from the inside of a drain pipe that came from underneath the sidewalk outside his office. After some coaxing with food, he found a small kitten small enough to hide in the palm of his hand. The kitten looked much like a gray scale tiger and we all grew rather fond of the little guy quickly. We named him Tiger.

It was the duty of my brother and I to teach the little cat the ways of a warrior, so we continually gave it wrestling lessons and gave that cat an edge in the ways of defending itself. When it was about three years of age it went missing. My sister who was a major animal lover convinced my dad to go looking for him around the neighborhood and much to my surprise, the came home with cat in hand. It had been found in the neighbors tree with it's foot caught in the branches, it had been there for two to three days until my sister rescued it.

A year or so later, we added a dog to the family that scared the cat and it eventually ran away. One early morning while I was getting ready to start my paper route I saw a rather familiar cat walking down the street, and it was not afraid of me. I approached it and was able to pick it up and quickly discovered that I had found the 1 week long missing cat, Tiger. I returned it home immediately before I started my route.

The cat was fixed and decided it would stay at home and rule the neighborhood. Some days on my way out the door I would see an enormous cat get laid out, by a cat half its size. I knew it's childhood training had paid off and Tiger was a force to be reckoned with in the neighbor hood, and he ruled it.

Years past and the cat grew old, new additions came to the family. A young kitten named Nala, the annoyance in Tiger's side that grew to be a companion. He learned to tolerate the young restless kitten and taught it in the wisdoms of his age. She in turn, learned to respect Tiger and learn from him.

It was the night of Tuesday, September 30, 2008. Sixteen and a half years since Tiger was abandoned as a runt of a kitten. Sixteen and a half years when Tiger first saw the light of day. Health issues had turned the muscle and sometimes fat into pure skin and bones. He was loved and cared for the whole night, pet and scratched with returns of his unforgettable purr as he recognized he was loved. A clean towel was placed in his bed and he was set down for a nights rest.

Dawn, Wednesday, October 1, 2008. Just before waking Tiger breathed his last and passed peacefully in his sleep. No growling of pain, no horrific accident. Just old age and a cats legacy left behind. The fearless cat, the fighter, the companion the mold for what a cat should be - 16 1/2 years to date and never forgotten. To a Tiger, to a Legacy and to a friend.

Mustang! Part 2

Today was a milestone in the start of the Mustang. After a little bit of trial and error, the Mustang (a.k.a. Catrina) finally turned over. All I need to do is flush the radiator/water system real nice, install new water pump, hoses and such, install the new gas tank and components, install exhaust system and all that will be left on this round is a bit of body work.

Return of the Mustang!

So about 2 months ago someone made a left hand turn in front of me, giving me about 10-20 feet to stop while traveling at 35mph (their fault of course). So now my Saturn is totaled and the insurance money is going towards fixing up the old Mustang from High School (a.k.a Catrina - not like the huricane, that was spelled with a "K").

So I started the process this week and have found it quite enjoyable. Who ever thought the bringing a classic back to life would be so much fun. To start I put in a new alternator (the newest looking part on the car now). Then I replaced the oil, oil filter and solinoid. As of now it doesn't turn over, somehow the battery died. So hopefully after the battery charges again I will get it to turn over and be that much closer to a running Mustang.

Coming soon is the new Gas Tank and hopefully I will have a decent running car that will be able to make multiple trips to and from LA to SF Bay Area. My goal is to save as much money as I can to apply towards body work and a basic paint job to keep rust out.

More to come, maybe I'll even add some more pictures. The latest is a look at my missing Sheild Plate for the transmission.

Found this to be insightful

Luke 18

1Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. 3And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.'

4"For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, 5yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!' "

6And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"

Squeaky wheel gets the oil? Or constant asking builds confidence/faith?

Scratching the Itch

I woke up early this morning to go to a writers group. The morning glow lit up the windows and the birds were softly chirping outside. I paused for a moment and thought to myself, "This would be a great day to go fishing..."

It was misty and almost raining outside. Still I want to go fishing.

When to show Kindness

I'm sure all of you have run into difficult situation when it comes to dealing with people. I have, and quite regularly. I wonder if I wasn't so conscious about how I spend my money and attempting to apply some energy saving/cost efficient habits then maybe I would be faced with such interesting predicaments. So now that you have probably figured out who I am dealing with I will go on with what a reaction should be, considering I have done the opposite.

The first thing anybody would be inclined to do is blow up in the persons face, blow them off and treat them the way one believes that they should be treated. While how good that might feel, I can guarantee right now that it is not the way to respond. Now I will probably never stop with my habits because I was brought up to save money and not be wasteful. While I would love to throw a punch or get into some big fat argument I wont. What I will do is to pray. Pray not only for them but that I might have a change of heart, that I might be able to not get irritated by the little things and pray that I can show love and kindness no matter what the circumstances.

I will NOT stop doing dishes when I see them in the sink. I will NOT stop picking up stuff when I see it lying around. I will NOT stop turning lights off when I leave a room. I WILL attempt to stop getting irritated and I WILL attempt to always show love. To be like Christ in all situations.

And that, my friends, is one time when we should show kindness.

Grace Like Mine

So I was reading in Matthew this morning about the servant who owed a debt. Matthew 18:23-35. It is a rather interesting story. I find it very true considering making a movie on credit easily puts me into the same situation as the two debtors in the parable.

Now wouldn't it be nice if I was given the grace as the fist debtor received?

26. "The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' 27. The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go."

The amount of grace for me would be overwhelming, or even if I was given a job that would provide me the money to pay back my debts, or if my movie sold and made the money back I would need to pay off my debts. Any of those would be great, but what did this forgiven servant do in return?

28. "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.
29. "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him. "Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
30."But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt."

So, I am pretty sure that the story is not of a man being forgiven of his debt but what he does in response to it. If I was to be given the grace of a relinquished debt what would my response be? Would I become overly tight with what I have been given as a result from being in debt? I hope not when it comes to it's effects on others. I believe the lesson Jesus wants us to learn is to give freely, and love. I'm not saying to go toss dollar bills of the freeway over pass, rather let me put it in Jesus' words:

35. "...forgive your brother from your heart."

Huckabee Comeback

So you might know from seeing my little donate deal on this blog that I am a Mike Huckabee supporter. I wish that my debts of trying to pay back the investment of the film I made did not hinder me so much, hopefully soon, that will change.

In any case, I figure I'd at least give me support to Huckabee. He was expected to drop out of the raise months ago and each time an election period comes he stays in it. Now the Republican party is down to two candidates for the party nomination. John McCain and Mike Huckabee.

If you live in Kansas or any of the other states voting on Saturday, or that haven't voted yet. Vote Huckabee. You can also donate to his campaign with the little deal I have on this site.

that's all. Go A's.

Sudden Urge

I got the urge to write a musical today. A blend of classic 50s Broadway with a dark twist and modern edge. Could be fun, now only to come up with a story.

Check out the new series/mocumentary I will be working on in February. The good ol' bro and I are making a film.

http://roads.stgham.com